While no one is shocked by reports of caddish buffoonery from Silvio Berlusconi, the Fellini-esque media-magnate-turned-self-described-world's-most-popular-leader, his latest reported antics have - once again - elicited a dramatic response from the long-suffering Verionica Lario. The signora was, apparently, angered by reports that her husband's list of potential parliamentarians consisted of a Big Brother housemate, a ballerina, a former Miss Italy contestant, and a couple of other young beauties conspicuously lacking in political experience. Lario - who has said in the past that public shaming is the only way to get the PM's attention - dashed off a furious missive to the news agencies, stating,

"What's happening today behind a front of bodily curves and female beauty is grave...Someone wrote that all this is to sustain the enjoyment of the Emperor. I agree with this - what has emerged is shameful trash, all in the name of power. I want to make it clear that I and my children are victims and not accomplices in this situation. We must endure it and it causes us pain.

She was also not pleased to learn of his attendance at the 18th birthday party of a "friend's daughter" best known for posing nearly-nude. Quoth the tart-tongued Lario, "This surprised me, because he never attended the 18th birthday parties of his children, even if he was invited."

This is not the first such incident: Two years ago, Lario alerted the media after Berlusconi named TV presented Mara Carfagna a government minister with the words, "Take a look at her! I'd marry her if I weren't married already." The first letter called her husband's behavior an insult to "my dignity as a woman", explaining that she was standing up for herself because "the example of a woman capable of defending her dignity ... takes on significant importance." She received a public apology.

While some feel Lario should pipe down, especially given her own history with Berlusconi (after he saw her performing in The Magnificent Cuckold (!) she was his mistress for years before he left his first wife) and a rumored affair with the mayor of Venice, others defend her passionately. Says MP Souad Sbai, according to the Guardian, "Veronica is a woman in love. I would have done the same thing, or even gone further, locking up the prime minister in a room and throwing away the key."

For those who don't understand why she's still with him, why his popularity is higher than ever, how this jibes with her stated interest in the dignity of the PM's station, how this is for real in our sanitized and PR'd world, or why the story has captured the imagination of the Italian people, well, you may need a lesson in Italian cliches, a set of values Berlusconi has enthusiastically embraced, to the chagrin of those interested in challenging stereotypes. Says one writer, simply, to the Times, "People identify with it."

While one can only sympathize with any long-suffering wife married to an evident lecher, we do begin to wonder, if she is interested in setting a good example for female dignity, why she is still with him, and that's not the kind of speculative argument I usually welcome, because it's none of our business. But the difference is, she's inviting it. It would be one thing if she decided to turn a blind eye, or stand stoic, or play; but she chooses to confront it - sort of - a weird, but not wholly apposite counterpoint to the quietly supportive wives of shamed politicians we're used to seeing over here. A more vocal martyrdom, but a martyrdom still! She and her children may indeed be "victims" - and Berlusconi is, no question, the villain of the piece - but they're really starting to look evenly matched in utter impunity.

Premier's Roving Eye Enrages Wife, But Not His Public [NY Times]
Being Mrs Berlusconi [Guardian]
Trouble At Home For Italy's Berlusconi [AP]
Berlusconi Says He Is World's Most Popular Lleader [Reuters]

In Bailon's case, the private photos were quite literally stolen off of her laptop. As in the case of Hudgens, the pictures were also intended for a boyfriend's eyes. As sins go, they're hardly shocking. But yes, to a little girl who's apparently based her life on the actions of a character on a Disney program, such a revelation is earth-shattering indeed. Says author Debra Beck , "Rather than saying, 'Can you believe that happened?', ask your child her opinion about this...Look at it as a learning opportunity, and let kids explore their own feelings about it without giving your opinion."

Or, why don't we look at it as an opportunity to ask why kids are so obsessed with these shows? As psychologist Lisa Medoff points out, "Tweens idolize celebs, but as long as they have other role models in their life exhibiting good behavior, it's not a worry." Well, yeah. Like so much, doesn't this come down to common sense rather than some kind of contrived damage control? Even so, this seems to be a powerful argument for cartoons. Say what you will, Belle and Ariel are hardly likely to pop up in compromising positions on the internet, nor is Princess Jasmine likely to give vent to foul-mouthed diatribes.

Can we also say, why are these children even aware of these sex scandals? Maybe that's naive, and I do realize the internet has been the death of wholesomeness as we knew it, and that I come from a time when we were just "kids," but doesn't supervision do quite a bit to keep a child's focus on the character, and off the actress — or at least TMZ's portrayal thereof? There has always been a stark divide between what teen idols did and how we saw them — Maureen McCormick's recent tell-all is a testament to that — but for older kids, surely there are worse things than explaining that an actress is older than who she plays; that Hollywood is a rough place; and that, in any case, these were intended to be kept between grown-ups "who love each other." Really, when you think about it, it's a pretty PG way to introduce a child to the sordid! And isn't that sort of the contradiction of the "tween" construct after all?

She Did What?! Vanessa Hudgens, Adrienne Bailon Not The Role Models Parents Want [New York Daily News]

This whole thing is…problematic. On the one hand, whenever a woman says she was raped, I want to believe her wholeheartedly and support her. But Tanya Harding's claims are certainly coming at an odd time. She's currently featured as a commentator on TruTv's The Smoking Gun Presents (tagline: Real Video. Real Stupid. Real Awesome.) alongside other bright lights of recent history like Amy Fisher, Danny Bonaduce, and Leif Garrett. "If people are going to read [Tanya's book], they have to read it for the entertainment value, and not go by every word as the gospel truth. She struggles with being taken seriously," says gold medalist Brian Boitano.

Whether or not she's telling the truth might be culturally irrelevant. The mere fact that she's using the trope of female victimhood to her own financial ends is troubling. Of course, if you are raped it's your business to disseminate that information in any way you see fit, but Harding's claims that "she's more concerned with having an impact on other victims of abuse," as opposed to making money, seem to be a total farce. I mean, the woman was boxing fellow 90s scandal mainstay Paula Jones for fun and profit a few years ago. Her credibility is dubious at best.

Tonya Harding: The Victim? [Newsweek]

Oh, and did we mention that Carla Bruni is reportedly up the stick? Right. According to the always respectable Daily Mail, the President's popularity is plummeting in the wake of his very public relationship with the supermodel, whose previous beaus include Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Donald Trump. She earned the nickname "Maneater" when she left a boyfriend for his son — whose jilted wife, Justine Levy, then wrote a bestselling roman-a-clef about the situation.

Speaking of books, Cécilia attempted to halt publication of the most damning biography of her marriage to Sarkozy, Cécilia, by journalist Anna Bitton. The former first lady has never said that anything in the book is untrue, though: she was suing on grounds of invasion of privacy. Earlier today, according to The Telegraph, The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris decided that Mme Sarkozy had no right to keep Bitton's books from the masses, much to the delight of every tabloid-lover on the Continent.

All the major newspapers in Europe are obsessively covering this juicy story, and everyone has a theory about why President Sarkozy is rushing into a super-serious relationship with Bruni in the aftermath of his messy divorce from Cécilia. The Daily Mail rounds up the various possibilities: The earnest types out there think that Sarkozy has truly fallen head over heels for the glamorous Bruni. The mercenaries think that Sarkozy just wants someone to be a first lady for him — he suffers from protocol nightmares in more conservative countries like Saudi Arabia because he's a single man, and, if he had a wife, Sarkozy would be relieved of some diplomatic headaches. The last theory is that Sarkozy is still deeply in love with Cécilia, even though she publicly jilted him and slagged him to the press, and that he's merely dating Bruni (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Cécilia) as an elaborate revenge.

Sarkozy's Fiancee 'Pregnant' As Ex Cecilia Delivers Blistering Attack On Couple [Daily Mail]
Nicolas Sarkozy's Ex Attacks 'Stingy' Husband [Telegraph]
Nicolas Sarkozy's Ex Fails To Ban 'Skinflint' Book [Telegraph]
Sarkozy Is Mean, Cold And A Serial Womaniser, Says Ex-Wife Cécilia [Independent]